Training Log Archive: peterk

Shake out the cobwebs after not doing any thing for a week due to injury. The first 10 mininutes felt like my lungs were trying to pull my heart out of the chest cavity. Riding into a howling westerly did not help. Ride up to Mullaloo and back fight the cross wind but worth it for the views of the crashing surf

Spent all day reviewing the Lovers Lane map with the conclusion that this map will be unique for WA. Fantastic spur gully terrain overprinted by diggings which make it look a bit like the Victorian goldfields and just as complex. But wait there is more - there are some very nice areas of granite and relatively open country. There are a few areas of steep terrain which can be minimised by judicious route choice.

C • Laterite 4

Tough game. Unknowingly hurt myself resulting in sore back muscles This ended in muscle spasms after I cooled down. Limited range of movement ment a tough night.

Slow on corners due to wetness of road and paths. Sand every where. Bike will need a clean this weekend. Small diversion to normal route.

First tow for a while on the latter part. I was better on the rises and climbs

Low pressure in the back tyre before I left home so I pumped it up to 100psi. Almost exactly half way to work I am almost on the rim. Pumping does not work so it is a tube change. It is only when you stop that you realise there are quite a few people who use the bike path. Replaced the tube but still no pressure. Dodgy pump? Flag down a passing cyclist but their pump is inefective. So the spare tube is stuffed as well. Left the phone at home so I cannot call for back-up. Decide to walk to the nearesat bike shop - only 3 blocks away. Replace tubes and tyre. Looks like I must have pinched the tube when I replaced it.

I collected a tail at Scarborough Beach road while I was day dreaming. He left on an alternate route at Osbourne Park and I am thinking I wont see him again. But he comes up behind me while I wait for the light change at Karrinyup road. So the alternate route was not so good. Useing the downhill of Karrinyup road I push to the max expecting him to sit there and go around when I inevitably slow down 1km later. It pleases me that when I get to the top of the hill before Read Highway I look behind and he is a long way back.

An early morning trip to the dentist followed by a hangover from the anesthetic means I missed my usual ride to work.

Event: Mt Billy
 

Solid run with plenty of uphill power. On the way to #2 got stoped by a new orienteer on the side of a hill looking for control 202? He was desperate so I had a look on his map to see where it was. HMM the control was in the creek 4-5 contours down. A lot to learn!

Lost confidence at #5 when I could not find the rock hiding the control - a big loop to confirm position and I find I was 10m from it before but vegetation obscured the rock.

A strange thing happen on the way to #11 I was sitting on the right line heading south down hill when I checked my course and reset my run direction due to imaginary N_S lines at right angles to the actual. Fortunately commonsense kicked in when my route and contours did not match

Mt Billy to Carine.

Strangely enough the GPS does not work that well if not charged up so no map trace. Route something like this:
Great southern Highway to Lakes
Across to Chidlow then to Stoneville then Mundaring. (30+k's)
Feeling a drop in energy levels so stopped for a massive coffee and apple pie at Dome.
Mundaring to Darlinghurst on back roads then Coulston road ect to Midland and Gilford. Take right turn to Lords Street then Morley drive most of the way home. The last section seemed to be alot easier than I thought it would be (possible light tail wind)
Combined with the orienteering a good workout and may be sore tomorrow

H3 Course - Splits

Balcata Bike force group. Wet morning and only three turn up for the usual Saturday ride - others scared of by the promise of early showers. With the cloud and no wind it is almost perfect for a ride. After a the first few hundred metres we could of been on one the Pyronean passes as we hit thick fog. I had hoped for an easy ride but drafting was not a good option with a constant shower of the back wheel. Judiciously decided to shorten the ride from the usual to freemantle and turn at South Cottesloe. Finish with a coffee and a hot muffin at North Beach

C • Pyronean pass 2

Short ride to local bike shop to replace my helmet - which should have been done straight after my crash a few months ago

One look at the BOM web site showed it was not a good day for cycling. Would have been in the worst of it 5m into the ride.

Very cold in the depressions such as Carine Swamp and Gwelup. Did not warm up untill more than half way to work. No enthusiasm on the flats but there was tdf inspired pushes up the hills.

Home with Komy via Herdsmans lake for variety and a smoother ride than PSP . Down side is the traffic. Over 5m spent at trafic Lights

Generally good movement on the field enabled right place right time and a hat trick of goals. There is no question the cycling has improved mobility and flexibility.

No incentive to push this morning because as you go faster the colder it gets. Only really warmed up after more than half way to work.

Fast Trip to the dentist for much needed repairs. Time could have been faster if not having to stop dead at almost every intersection.

Wet day wimped out

Event: (MTBO LDC) Munday Brook
 

Cold cold start. Off on leg 1 and 2 along very soft pea gravel. At that point the road race on the adjacent bitumen looked more enticing. In fact the bitumen may have been an unrecognised option to #1. Straight forward to #3 then a very good route choice leg to #4 where it was hard to decide which was the optimal option. I chose a relatively safe wide option which went through control #8. It was on this leg that I hit one section of pea gravel that stoped me dead because it was so deep and soft. Duncan Sullivan caught me after #5 and powered away like a natural climber. He got to #7 well before me. (#6 was cancelled due to the fact some routes in and out may have been too close to the rifle range, which happened to be operating today). Off to #8 going backwards was the best option to go as I got there the same time as Duncan! By this time I was cruising and daydreamed my way, overshooting the last turn to #9. I lost 4-5m when I searched a different track. No issues after that except on the way to #10 I came across avery distressed orienteer who had no idea where she was. (This was despite standing on the end of a sealed bitumen road in sight of farm houses!!). Controls on the golf course were fun.

Course3 - Splits

Spent the morning wandering around the bush 25km north of Leonora accompanied by traditional owners to see if we had any heritage issues in an area we want to drill. The whole thing is something every mining company has to do as part of a process (even if both parties know there are no issues).

Spent the day mapping and prospecting 10km north of Laverton

Legs are fine after the long ride but the back is sore. A day off is in order.

Tour de Avon - CTAWA 160km or 100 mile challenge event.

Only three starters on a very cold morning at the Lakes Roadhouse. The forecast said rain and the wind had been strong all week. So it was suprise that it was a quiet still morning. However all the roads were wet from overnight rain. The car temperature guage said it was 3 degrees. So multiple layers.

At 8am we head off up the Great Eastern Highway for a few kms before turning left to Wooroloo. We head over a few hills at a slow pace (too cold to move too fast) toToodyay Road. After a few steady climbs we have a fantastic descent towards Lovers Lane. Then the inevitable climb up. State champs map area on the left and interesting gully terrain on the right. A lot of contours here. Then down over the other side to toodyay. At this point I have stayed with the other 2 riders but their pace is a bit slower than mine

We then follow the river along via the tourist drive. At this point we are thinking what a wonderful day it is, beatiful scenery, clear skies and no wind. Well 5km down the road this changes when we come out from behind a ridge straight into a S SW angled head wind. Without the protection of the hills and lots of vegetation the wind presented a challenge all the way to York. My two fellow riders started to drop off so from then on I set my own pace.

After 4+ hours of riding York was a welcome lunch spot. A fresh home made steak and bacon pie was quickly followed by a fresh apricot pastery and a capuchino. With a full stomach I then headed up the long grinding hill out of York up the Great Southern Highway. Up until now there had been very little traffic. This road however was full of Perth day trippers returning home from York. So it was a little bit of a nervous ride back.

After the main climb out of York was completed every small hill became a mountain as energy had now been sapped from the legs. A corbo shot did not seem to help much. So it was just a slog home. With the cold headwind it ended up being a hard ride. Total time of 7hrs and 20m and ride time of 6hr 30m

C • Impressive 2

What a difference the wind makes to the time and the metal attitude. Start in an Easterly direction with the wind behind and thinking what a great morning it was. Turn south and then it becomes a slog with the wind slowing the pace by 5km/h. Just after Karrinyup road it starts to drizzle - not enough to put a coat on, besides there was blue sky whre the weather was coming from. Then it opened up and I got drenched while it did not last more than 4 minutes it was enough to fill the bike shoes with water.

Nothing like putting on wet bike clothes to go out for a ride. YUk!

Seemed to be into some sort of minor head wind most of the way even though it was supposed to be a westerly. Tested my new GPS and HRM